London investors will next week focus on the latest results from blue chip heavyweights including BP and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as the Bank of England's latest monetary policy meeting. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies finished at 6,347.24 points on Friday, up almost 1 percent from a week earlier.
On the corporate results front, British energy giant BP will publish annual results on Tuesday, as the group continues to grapple with fallout from the 2010 oil spill disaster. It agreed to a US payout of $4 billion on Tuesday.
"A final settlement with the US Department of Justice in relation to its Gulf of Mexico spill continues to overshadow investment prospects on the earnings front," noted analyst Keith Bowman at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
He added: "Following a recent terrorist attack in Algeria, the group's future in north Africa may generate management comment, whilst the timetable and timeliness for its TNK BP stake sale may also prove a focus."
The results are due three weeks after a deadly Islamist attack on the BP-operated In Amenas gas facility in Algeria, in a hostage-taking siege that ended with the deaths of almost 40 captives, mostly foreigners. Elsewhere next week, other companies publishing earnings include energy firm BG Group, drugsmaker GlaxoSmithKline and mobile phone giant Vodafone.
Next Thursday, meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) will announce the outcome of its latest montery policy gathering, with all eyes on its quantitative easing plans after the economy sank into a new downturn in the fourth quarter of 2012. On the same day, the BoE's incoming governor Mark Carney will face questions before parliament's Treasury Committee panel of lawmakers.
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